The Night Ferry

Michael Robotham

Published By: Doubleday

The Night Ferry is Australian author Michael Robotham’s third thriller. The first two titles are Suspect and Lost.

Alisha Barba is a Sikh and a London police detective. She’s recovering from a serious back injury (occurred in Lost) that has sidelined her for almost a year, nearly preventing her from returning to work. When she finally is able to report for duty, she learns she’s going to be ‘tucked’ away in a nothing job–and she’s not willing to do that.

Alisha receives a cryptic note from her estranged childhood best friend, Cate, imploring her to meet her at the women’s high school reunion. Wanting to put right their relationship, Alisha goes to the reunion. The women have little chance to talk before a speeding car darts out of nowhere and runs down Cate and her husband. Before a very pregnant Cate dies, she manages to whisper to Alisha that someone is trying to take her baby and she begs her old friend to stop them.

Motivated by Cate’s death request and a startling revelation about Cate’s pregnancy, Alisha, with the help of retired Inspector Vincent Ruiz, follow the clues about Cate’s baby to Amsterdam. They find human embryos, forced prostitution, human trafficking, and dangerous people who will stop at nothing to accomplish their evil goals.

Robotham’s thriller is chilling. It’s fast paced, the plot sizzles and the characters are well-drawn. You love the good guys and root for them and you despise the bad guys and hope they go down hard. The Night Ferry forces the reader to take a long, hard look at the evil that walks among us–and it allows us to hope for better. He gives us two strong and determined people in Alisha and Vincent–two people that represent a willingness to fight for what is right. But it is the depths of depravity that Robotham presents that will haunt you for a long, long time because we know that the situation he presents occurs. And that makes us all less human.

Armchair Interviews says: A must read. And pick up Suspect and Lost for a triple good read.